Ask Jerry Markbreit

This will be my final column for the 2005 football season. I want to thank you all for your wonderful questions, and for the interest you took in the feature. I couldn't wait for each week's questions, and I got much pleasure in giving you the answers. Have a wonderful off-season, and I'll see you all next football season.

Sincerely,

Jerry Markbreit

Near the end of the first half of the Super Bowl, the Seahawk receiver was ruled out of bounds. On replay, he gets his left foot in and his right shin grazes the pylon, it actually starts falling before his left leg kicks it. Is this not a touchdown? --Dan, Ashburn, Va.

The rule states that a receiver must get both feet inbounds with the ball in his possession to complete a catch. In the play in question, his left foot did get in, but the second foot hit the pylon, which is out of bounds in the end zone; thus, making the play an incomplete pass. These are very tight plays and this one was ruled correctly by the onfield official and confirmed by the replay official, which is why the play was not challenged from the replay booth.

On the illegal man down field penalty, how far down the field is a lineman allowed to go while the quarterback is behind the line of scrimmage? Is there anything else affecting this call? --Max Salk, Northbrook, Ill.

Under NFL rules, it is a foul when an ineligible offensive player, including a T-formation quarterback, prior to a legal forward pass advances beyond the line of scrimmage after losing contact with an opponent at the line of scrimmage. The guidline for officials to use is the offending player must be more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage prior to the pass.

Mr. Markbreit, when is it important in a game not to make a call and "let them play"? --Michael Bergman, Metamora, Ill.

It is always important to let them play, but this must be accomplished within the rules. The hallmark of good officiating is for officials to know what not to call. The fouls jump out at you as an official and you are certain that it should be called. Whenever there is any doubt regarding a play, the call should not be made. This is a tough business and the officials do a tremendous job in this regard.

What is so egregious about the kickoff going out of bounds that it merits placing the ball on the 40-yard line? I don't understand the thought process on this one. --Bob Corsale, North Las Vegas

There are several reasons, in my opinion, why the ball is placed 30 yards in advance of the spot where a kickoff was made when the ball goes out of bounds untouched by a receiver. The first reason is to keep teams from purposely kicking off out of bounds so the receivers cannot return the kick. This severe penalty eliminates the situation. The second reason is to move the game along at a good pace by not re-kicking the ball with a five-yard penalty. Years ago, all out-of-bounds kickoffs were kicked over. This took a lot of extra time.

In Super Bowl XL there was controversy as to whether Pittsburgh QB broke the plane of the goal line. Where does the goal line begin? Is it the beginning of the chalk line or the end of the chalk line? Is it the beginning of the chalk line at the field of play? Or is it the end of the chalk line in the end zone? --Tim, La Plata, Md.

"Each goal line marking is to be in its end zone, so that the edge of the line toward the field of play (actual goal line) is thirty feet from the inside edge of the end line. Each goal line is to be eight inches wide." This is a quote from the NFL rule book. In other words, the goal line begins on the chalk line nearest the field of play.

I need to understand the rule for the low block after an interception from the offensive member attempting to make a tackle, like during the Super Bowl with Hasselbeck. --Gary Natali, Clay, N.Y.

When a pass is intercepted, both teams are restricted from blocking below the waist. When a passing team man dives low in an attempt to tackle the intercepting player and, in the process, blocks a member of the intercepting team below the waist, even though he may make the tackle, a foul for illegal low block should be called. It does not matter whether the passing team player is attempting to make a tackle. If he intentionally goes low and, in the process, hits an opponent below the waist, it is an illegal block.

Is "down by contact" a phrase actually used in the NFL rules? Does the "contact" have to be instrumental in the player going down or is any touching or contact sufficient to make a player "down by contact" so that "the ground cannot cause a fumble." This was relevant to a call in the Super Bowl. I concede that the Pittsburgh player touched the Seattle runner, but it was questionable whether the touching caused the runner to go down to any degree. Thanks. Look forward to your response. --Timothy Riordan

An official shall declare a dead ball and the down ended when a runner is contacted by a defensive player and he touches the ground with any part of his body, except his hands or feet. Contacting a player under this rule could be touching, grabbing, bumping, or any other type of contact. There is no strict definition of contact. The call in the Super Bowl was absolutely correct when the Seattle runner was ruled down by contact. In this case, the touching or slight grabbing by the Pittsburgh player was enough to satisfy the rule.